Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• What command does Jesus give in v. 59?
• What is the man’s response to Jesus’s command?
• What does the word “first” tell us about this man’s priorities?
• How does Jesus answer the man’s request?
• Where are we to proclaim the kingdom of God?

Prayerfully Meditate

• In saying “follow me,” what is Jesus commanding this man to do? What does it mean to follow him?
• What is the root problem behind the man’s response?
• How do people today respond to Jesus in a similar way? What excuses do they give?
• How are Jesus’s words to this man in v. 60 reconciled with commands to honor our father and mother?
• In what ways are you proclaiming the kingdom of God to unbelievers? Where have you hesitated to obey Christ in proclaiming the gospel?